![]() ![]() Now, they're hoping to get that money back. Shaffer says thanks to low rates, some of those companies weren't making up part of their investment costs as recently as 2018. A switch to a competition-based system 20 years ago allowed smaller companies to enter the business, but the market is still dominated by a few large players. The 2021/22 winter season was the province's first under a new type of energy deregulation. The economist says increased demand and the provincial TIER program did raise costs, but only slightly. He says many people were quick to blame the federal carbon tax - something that "doesn't even apply to the electricity sector," according to Shaffer. Shaffer's study aimed to account for that doubling. Last year, Alberta's wholesale power price rose from about $48/MWh to more than $105/MWh. "Basically, they've increased their offer prices further above the cost to generate." "What we (found) is two thirds of the change comes down to the way that power companies are offering their power into the market." "We wanted to break down what really is behind this spike," he said. That's a market markup of $35/MWh, says economist and report co-author Blake Shaffer. ![]() Power companies were drastically increasing their profit margins as many Albertans were struggling to keep up with skyrocketing utility bills, according to a new report from the University of Calgary.ĭata from the School of Public Policy shows some companies went from making about $9 per megawatt hour in 2020 to $44/MWh last year. ![]()
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